John Grey
'''Lord John Grey' is a secondary character in the ''Outlander'' novels and the protagonist of a subseries of historical mysteries, the ''Lord John'' novels and novellas. His first appearance is as a young English soldier, age sixteen, before the Battle of Prestonpans in Dragonfly in Amber, and subsequently he appears as the new governor of Ardsmuir Prison, where he strikes up a tenuous friendship with Jamie Fraser. He has had appearances in each subsequent novel, although his appearance in The Fiery Cross is limited to a series of letters exchanged between him and the Fraser family. The Lord John stories take place during the period of time in which Jamie is at Helwater. Background Lord John William Grey was born around June 1729 to Gerard Grey, Duke of Pardloe and Earl of Melton, and his wife Benedicta Grey, née Armstrong. Grey has three elder brothers; Harold "Hal" Grey, his elder brother from his parents' marriage, and Paul and Edgar DeVane, from his mother's marriage to Captain DeVane. It is unclear just how much older Grey's siblings are, although Grey was about ten when Edgar married. Grey was enrolled for the , a gentleman's club, upon his birth by his godfather, who began taking him there for lunch every Wednesday starting when he was seven. As an adult, Grey continues to frequent the club, preferring it to White's Club, of which he is also a member. At the time of the Lord John series it is not uncommon for him to sleep at the Beefsteak instead of returning to his mother's home, where he keeps his rooms. Grey is a fine swordsman, having first begun lessons with one at the age of three; at a young age he once struck Hal on the leg with a sword, doing no lasting damage but leaving a scar. On Grey's twelfth birthday he was given a pocket watch by his father, his brother having received an identical one on his own twelfth birthday. The next day Grey's father was found dead by his mother, having been murdered in the night. Not knowing who had committed the murder and wanting to protect her family, Grey's mother covered it up, making it appear as though Pardloe had committed suicide; at the time, he had been under the suspicion of having been a Jacobite supporter and thus his death was seen as proof of such. The family was dishonoured by the allegations, and an attempt to have the dukedom of Pardloe revoked was briefly made. Thoroughly shamed, Grey's elder brother Hal chose to be referred to by his second title, the Earl of Melton, rather than take on one that was associated with such a scandal. As the head of the family, Melton was able to push his will onto his mother, who became known as the Dowager Countess, but not Grey, who insisted on being called Lord John, as befitting a duke's younger son, instead of the Honourable John, as befitting an earl's younger son. Immediately after his father's death, Grey was sent to Aberdeen, Scotland, to stay with his mother's family and avoid the scandal, although it was not until much later in his life that Grey came to realize this. Introduction in the Outlander Series |-|Dragonfly in Amber = In September of 1745, Grey is introduced as a sixteen-year-old member of the 46th Regiment, which his brother, Lord Melton, had raised in order to restore his family's honor and prove that they were not Jacobite supporters. Acting as a forager and scout, Grey encounters Jamie and Claire Fraser near Carryarick, assuming that he was witnessing the notorious Red Jamie Fraser with an abducted English woman. Honor drives him to attempt to save her and capture Fraser, leading to a rather dismal failure. For a time Grey would be thoroughly ridiculed by his regiment and others who heard the tale. Grey's brother would later forbid his joining in the final battle at Culloden, though Grey rejoined his regiment afterward to administer the coup de grâce to any Scots left alive on the field. |-|Voyager, part 1 = On February 15, 1755, Lord John arrives in Ardsmuir, Scotland, to replace Colonel Harry Quarry as Governor of Ardsmuir Prison. He was sent there after his involvement in a hushed-up scandal. One of the prisoners under his care is Jamie Fraser, who has easily assumed a leadership role amongst the other prisoners. At the suggestion of his predecessor, Grey begins to have regular dinners with Fraser to discuss prison matters. Eventually the two strike up a tenuous friendship, with Grey developing a great, albeit unrequited, love for the other man. Upon the completion of the fortress renovations at Ardsmuir, Grey is charged with transporting the prisoners to the American colonies; however, in the case of Fraser he makes an exception, instead arranging to have him paroled at Helwater where Grey's family friends, the Dunsanys, live. Throughout Jamie's parole, Lord John visits Helwater periodically to ensure his welfare. The Lord John Series Further Outlander Series Appearances |-|Voyager = In early 1767, Lord John meets Claire again on a ship to the West Indies, though he only knows her as Mrs. Malcolm and does not see her in the daylight, and thus does not recognize her as Jamie's wife. Later, after Claire escaped the ship and Lord John had assumed his position as governor of Jamaica, Lord John meets Jamie at a ball for his arrival as governor, and finally sees Claire for who she really is. During the ball, John meets with Jamie in private to give him a miniature portrait of his son, William, and Claire observes them, unseen, as they embrace with great feeling. After his initial shock at discovering her true identity, John talks privately with Claire and explains how Jamie came to have a son and how he, John, came to be stepfather to the boy. |-|Drums of Autumn = In the autumn of 1769, Lord John arrives unannounced at Fraser's Ridge with his stepson, William—Jamie's illegitimate son. He reveals that his wife, Isobel, died while on the passage to Jamaica with William, and he travels now to his wife's estate in Virginia. Fraser's Ridge is not precisely on the way from Charleston to the estate in Virginia, but Lord John wanted to stop and see Jamie, for various reasons. While visiting, Lord John contracts the measles, and Claire treats him while Jamie takes William on a hunting trip to protect him from infection. John and Claire speak frankly while Jamie is gone, a tense conversation that perhaps helps them understand each other better. He leaves once he has recovered and William returns with Jamie from hunting. About a year later, John returns to North Carolina, this time to Cross Creek, where a pregnant Brianna awaits news of Roger and her parents. Lord John stops at River Run in the course of searching for Roger Wakefield, as Jamie had asked him to do months ago, but Brianna apprises him of the developments in the search for Roger. Instead of moving on to Wilmington, Lord John stays on at River Run and keeps Brianna company while they wait for Jamie and Claire to return, hopefully with Roger. After witnessing Lord John paying a late night visit to the slave quarters, and guessing at his homosexuality, Brianna tries to blackmail Lord John into marrying her, threatening to expose him as a "pederast" if he refuses. Lord John insists she explain how she came to resort to blackmail to solve her problems, and they have a long discussion about her predicament and John's own history. Eventually, John agrees to fake an engagement with her, in order to throw off her other potential suitors while they wait for news of Roger. It is during these months at River Run that Brianna and Lord John become close friends. In the spring, Lord John hears of Stephen Bonnet's arrest and sentence to hang, and tells Brianna of it. She insists she wants to see Bonnet before his execution, and Lord John reluctantly agrees to take her to him. While in the cellar of the building where Bonnet is being kept, Sergeant Murchison knocks a blow to Lord John's head, rendering John apparently dead. Brianna discovers he is not, and gets Bonnet to carry John's lifeless body out and away from the building, which is set to explode. They get out in time, and Bonnet escapes while John survives. Lord John is still recovering from his injuries when Jamie and Claire return from their journey in May. Claire inspects the healing wound to John's head, on which another physician performed surgery. Claire returns John's ring to him, which had helped maintain the ruse of his engagement to Brianna. |-|The Fiery Cross = -- Event summary for Lord John in The Fiery Cross -- |-|A Breath of Snow and Ashes = -- Event summary for Lord John in A Breath in Snow and Ashes -- |-|An Echo in the Bone = -- Event summary for Lord John in A Echo in the Bone -- Personality Physical Appearance Relationships Lord John places great value in his relationships, from those with family and friends, to his more intimate sexual relationships. Lord John Grey/Hal|Hal Lord John Grey/Harry Quarry|Harry Quarry Lord John Grey/Hector|Hector Lord John Grey/George Everett|George Everett Lord John Grey/Jamie Fraser|Jamie Fraser Lord John Grey/Stephan von Namtzen|Stephan von Namtzen Lord John Grey/Percy Wainwright|Percy Wainwright Lord John Grey/Charlie Carruthers|Charlie Carruthers Lord John Grey/Manoke|Manoke Lord John Grey/Claire Fraser|Claire Fraser Name Trivia Further Reference *Lord John Grey Chronology -- No Spoilers -- Compiled by Rory Pascual. This listing compiles all of Lord John's appearances in both the Lord John series and the Outlander series, in order of occurrence and with chapters listed. This list does not contain spoilers. *Lord John Grey Chronology -- Minor Spoilers -- Same as above, though with brief descriptions of what occurs in each particular scene. Category:18th century characters Category:Lord John Grey novel characters Category:Characters Category:Characters in Voyager Category:Characters in Drums of Autumn Category:Characters in An Echo in the Bone Category:Characters in Dragonfly in Amber